[JURIST] AP is reporting that following a sentencing hearing Tuesday [JURIST report], a military jury at Fort Hood has sentenced Spc. Sabrina Harman to six months in prison in connection with her role in abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib. 9:17 PM ET - With credit for time served before
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[JURIST] The three main opposition parties [2004 IslamOnline backgrounder] in Egypt, the moderate-left Wafd [Wikipedia entry], Marxist Tagamu [Arab Decision backgrounder], and the Nasserist Party [Arab Decision backgrounder] have joined forces to voice their opposition to a May 25 referendum on an Egyptian constitutional amendment [JURIST report] allowing competitive presidential
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[JURIST] The future of a work-in-progress bill to provide $140 billion in asbestos compensation [JURIST report; Asbestos Alliance advocacy website] was threatened Tuesday by a looming battle between Republicans and Democrats over judicial nominations. Senators moved a Wednesday Senate Judiciary Committee business committee meeting [cancellation notice] on the subject to
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[JURIST] Army Spc. Sabrina Harman [Wikipedia profile] apologized for her role in the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison [Wikipedia entry] during the sentencing phase of her court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas, Tuesday. Harman was convicted Monday [JURIST report] of six of the seven charges brought against her,
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[JURIST] Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles [Wikipedia profile] has been arrested by federal agents in Miami, according to a report from CNN. Posada, a onetime CIA asset [Democracy Now report] who slipped into the US two months ago, is accused of bombing a Cuban airplane almost 30 years ago. The
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[JURIST] China announced Tuesday that it will crack down on Chinese police officials' use of improper interrogation methods on criminal suspects. Chinese police are notorious for using coercion and torture while interrogating suspects [Amnesty International report]. Prosecutors must now review all a criminal's police records as well as explicitly question
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[JURIST] Despite President Bush's veto threat, the Senate Tuesday passed a $295-billion highway bill [full text] to build more roads and create jobs by an 89-11 vote. The White House said $284 billion was the most it would approve; the House bill was for this amount [AP report]. The Senate
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[JURIST] Uzbekistan Prosecutor-General Rashid Kadyrov Tuesday denied reports that Uzbek government forces opened fire on demonstrators [JURIST report] Friday who were protesting government repression in the eastern city of Andijan. Although Kadyrov claimed that no civilians were killed by government fire, hundreds of witnesses reported that the government troops did
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[JURIST] British Member of Parliament George Galloway [BBC profile] Tuesday vehemently denied charges [BBC video] that he benefited from the UN Oil-for-Food program while testifying during a hearing [agenda and prepared testimony] before the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations [official website]. The subcommittee of the US Senate Committee on
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[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [JURIST news archive] Tuesday referred a war crimes case to a Bosnian national court, the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [JURIST report], the first time it has authorized such a transfer. Under pressure to wrap
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[JURIST] An Islamist website has posted a message from Iraq's Al-Qaeda group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile] urging Sunni Muslims not to participate in the Iraqi political process, especially the drafting of the new constitution, and calling any who would take part infidels: "Would anyone draft the
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[JURIST] A UK lawyer representing three Westerners allegedly tortured in a Saudi Arabian prison said Tuesday that her firm would attempt to seize Saudi assets in Britain, including those of Saudi Arabian Airlines, as reparation for the men's mistreatment and to pay for overdue legal costs. The men - two
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[JURIST] A court in Paris jailed three men for 2 to 7 years Tuesday for offering logistical support to al Qaeda agents who killed Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Masood [BBC profile] shortly before the attacks on September 11th, 2001. The north African trio - Abderrahmane Ameuroud, Adel Tibourski, and
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[JURIST] Rape defendant and accused killer Brian Nichols [Wikipedia profile] pleaded not guilty in Atlanta's Fulton County Courthouse [backgrounder] Tuesday to multiple counts of murder, kidnapping, escape, and other charges in connection with the March 11 shootings [JURIST report] at the same courthouse when he allegedly overpowered a deputy sheriff,
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[JURIST] The trial of Nur-Pashi Kulayev, the sole surviving member of the militant group responsible for Beslan School Crisis [Wikipedia entry; BBC backgrounder] in September 2004, began Tuesday under tight security in Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia's North Ossetian region. Kulayev has been charged with terrorism, banditry and murder, among
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[JURIST] A British judge ruled Tuesday that Babar Ahmad [advocacy website] can be extradited to face charges of supporting terrorism, conspiring to kill Americans and running a Web site that US authorities say was used to fund terrorists. The case has been heard under a "fast track" extradition procedure under
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[JURIST] Military spokesmen at Fort Bliss, Texas, announced Monday that three more soldiers have been charged in connection with prisoner abuse at an Afghanistan detention facility. The Army has charged Sgt. Selena Salcedo and Sgt. Joshua Claus of Fort Bragg, NC and Sgt. Anthony Morden of the Army Reserve's 377th
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[JURIST] Supporters of an Arizona initiative seeking a ban on same-sex marriages and legal recognition of unmarried couples launched their public campaign Tuesday on the one year anniversary of the Massachusetts Supreme Court's decision [text] legalizing gay marriage. While Arizona law already prohibits same sex unions, supporters of the ban
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[JURIST] A Florida jury Monday ordered Morgan Stanley [corporate website] to pay $604 million in damages to billionaire investor Ronald Perelman after finding that he relied on the company when it advised him to sell his 82-percent stake in camping goods company Coleman for cash and stock in appliance company
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[JURIST] Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky [Wikipedia profile] was found guilty of all seven charges of tax evasion, fraud and embezzlementafter the Moscow court on Tuesday finished reading the verdict it began announcing on Monday [JURIST report]. The court will rule Wednesday on another charge [MosNews report] relating to alleged
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[JURIST] A United Nations-appointed committee investigating the UN oil-for-food program has won the right to inspect internal documents a former investigator turned over to the US Congress. Robert Parton resigned last month [JURIST report] from the Independent Inquiry Committee [official website] because he felt the UN investigation wasn't tough enough.
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[JURIST] The chief federal prosecutor in a terrorism case marred by prosecutorial misconduct resigned on Monday. Richard Convertino won convictions [DOJ statement] against four terrorism suspects in Detroit in 2003, but the government later had them tossed out [JURIST report] because possibly-valuable defense information was not turned over by the
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[JURIST] At the United Nations, Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan introduced a draft resolution Monday to expand the UN Security Council [official website] from 15 to 25 countries and give themselves permanent seats. Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed changes to the Council in March [JURIST report] and member nations have different
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